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my dd auditioned for GSA a couple of years ago..Yes the building is gorgeous but she hated the audition....she has D*D*D* in her Btec in Dance and Performing Arts, she is also a qualified dance teacher and achieved A* and As in her GCEs (including Drama, Music, Maths, English, Science etc) and yet she didn't get through the first round, they implied it was because she went to a full time theatre school.

Such a long way to go for 2 min audition... all the other places she auditioned for were at least half a day long, and after several offers she decided to take up her place at Bodyworks Cambridge, now in her 2nd year and absolutely loving it..

Please don't think that it is sour grapes, far from it... we know people who attend there and love it and are doing brilliantly. Good luck to all those applying this year for all the drama/MT courses x

Welsh Mum we haven't looked at London because of the huge costs of accommodation that the student loan doesn't begin to touch but aren't the fees higher at Mountview and Central as well or are they still £9000?

I don't know about Central, but the fees at Mountview are $13,500 and you can only borrow £6000 of that on the student loan as they class as a private institution even though the degree is validated by UEA.

Having said that, my DS has just started there and is absolutely loving it. He is staying in the Guy Chester Centre which is a catered hall and is very reasonable for London.

Hecouldshine wrote:Welsh Mum we haven't looked at London because of the huge costs of accommodation that the student loan doesn't begin to touch but aren't the fees higher at Mountview and Central as well or are they still £9000?

Central is same fees as other degrees - £9,000

Have held back posting this, but I just had to after reading all the posts about GSA. I have nothing but positive comments to say about the place and quality ,but I really needed a little moan on this post .If a student does a foundation there , they are automatically at a disadvantage when applying for the BA. They only take a few from the foundation as can not be seen to be a feeder for the degree course, meaning that some students who may Hv got in if they had not attended , don't !!! Very frustrating. Moan over ! As for fees they differ hugely. With the private colleges only getting £6000 towards £13500 fees ( arts ed , mountview etc). Even by adding the maintenance loan money to this, there is still a short fall in fees money. Choosing a college in London is great and it's where theatre life is vibrant BUT and its a big but, housing , tubes and day to day living are just sooooo expensive . Good luck to those auditioning this year , this forum is so fantastic for support during that time . Other parents whose DCs are applying to regular courses struggle to comprehend how hard it is. It is all worthwhile when that wad of paper hits the doormat and their dream comes true.good luck x

Sorry to go back to GSA but another thought occurred to me. I don't think they look at predictive grades before they take a £45 audition fee, so there must be an awful lot of hopefuls who don't stand a chance and if as has been said previously they are such sticklers for their high grades perhaps they should not audition those who have no chance of gaining the grades. Perhaps they do now, but certainly didn't when my Son auditioned two years ago. I know as has been said previously they may take 1 or 2 with lower grades but that's still an awful lot of money they're taking from people who have no chance which I think is unfair.

Absolutely agree Nigelben.
My daughter was predicted and gained 3A's. She auditioned initially in Manchester, but didn't get through. I have no idea whether they took her predicted grades in to account. It will be interesting to see what happens this time if she decides to audition there again. And. at the moment, it's a big IF.

nigelben wrote:Sorry to go back to GSA but another thought occurred to me. I don't think they look at predictive grades before they take a £45 audition fee, so there must be an awful lot of hopefuls who don't stand a chance and if as has been said previously they are such sticklers for their high grades perhaps they should not audition those who have no chance of gaining the grades. Perhaps they do now, but certainly didn't when my Son auditioned two years ago. I know as has been said previously they may take 1 or 2 with lower grades but that's still an awful lot of money they're taking from people who have no chance which I think is unfair.

The auditions are a huge money making enterprise, I don't think they would do this. Doesn't mean that they shouldn't !

How do you tell which are the private drama schools or private colleges? My DD is looking for straight Acting degree at Lamda, GSMD, CSSD, RADA and Bristol Old Vic but I didn't realise that we might only get £6000 instead of the higher amount. Our school keep having information evenings but as there's only two or three of them looking for DADAs, the teachers don't know about this source of funding and even the man from the local Uni didn't know ! Help !

GSA don't look at grades before auditioning , I think they do it during the auditions .DS was at a recall audition there last year and there was a lad who was amazing !! After he had sung ,they said he may as well go home as he didn't have the grades and they couldn't consider him. Poor boy was devastated . DS has caught up with him since and it still bugs him . I am in total agreement that they shouldn't take £45 off people who can not be considered but in their defence ,it is clearly stated on website what their requirements are, so if people want to pay and take their chances .......

oscar wrote:GSA don't look at grades before auditioning , I think they do it during the auditions .DS was at a recall audition there last year and there was a lad who was amazing !! After he had sung ,they said he may as well go home as he didn't have the grades and they couldn't consider him. Poor boy was devastated . DS has caught up with him since and it still bugs him . I am in total agreement that they shouldn't take £45 off people who can not be considered but in their defence ,it is clearly stated on website what their requirements are, so if people want to pay and take their chances .......

Seems a bizarre way to organise a vocational course. If it was Drama I could see the point, but to turn down talent in this way is ridiculous.

I totally agree Welshmum. But their loss is another school's gain. The frustration of it all though .

Well, let's hope for GSA's sake that there are not too many losses!
I can't help thinking though that they may miss out on some serious talent.

Crazy, when you think of the talent of someone like Sheridan Smith who left school at 16 What do A level grades have to do with performing MT?

Hi,

Has anyone auditioned for CSSD in previous years? The other drama schools audition everyone who applies to them but CSSD look at your ucas application before deciding if they will invite you to audition ! Just wondering if CSSD do actually refuse to see people - they could be missing out on great potential?